RICKY DONISON SCORES A HATRICK OF PODIUMS IN UAE F4

India 1 November 2016: As track temperatures refused to
recede in Abu Dhabi’s Yes Marina F1 circuit, the new FIA accredited
Formula 4 championship has attracted some serious talent. The organizers
can only be more than pleased with the kind of action that was
witnessed on the track. The inaugural non-championship round of 3 races
were held between October 28th and 29th. The championship
has seen entries from a bunch of national karting and regional racing
series champions from around the world, to make their foray into single
seater international F4 racing.

Indian racing rising star Ricky Donison,
made what many race experts would call “a dream debut”, as he scored a
hatrick of podiums in the 3 races held. The grid included World KFJ
karting champion Logan Sargeant from the United States and experienced
South African Jonathan Aberdein, who is the winner of ROK world finals
last year.

There is a lot riding on Ricky, as he has his sights,
to make it to the IndyCar series in the next few years. The lad was up
to speed in getting grips with insanely hot conditions. It got worse due
to technical difficulties, as he only had very limited time to
understand the car and the conditions around the track. During practice
he was only able to use half the time allotted. The challenge to race a
Fiat Abarth 414, F4 turbocharged 1.4cc, 160 hp engine requires very
high physical endurance. During race 1, he was involved in a lengthy
battle for the third. Despite braking problems he still hung on as if
his life depended on it. There were a few instances where rivals got
their nose ahead, only for Ricky to foil their attempts. He brought the
car home in third place. In race 2 he helped himself with another podium
finish as he placed third once again.

In the third and the
last race of the day, the problems from race 1, resurfaced again. His
car underwent braking problems. It looked unlikely if he would bring the
car home for a podium finish. The three time Indian JK Tyre Rotax National champion
and Rotax Asia max vice champion was able to bring his A game when it
mattered the most. Anticipating moves of his rival before they could
execute them, kept him in the hunt as he got his car, the third trophy
with his third place finish on the podium. He still rues the fact that
he didn’t have much pace to challenge for a race win in all the 3
races.

“I thank Team Energy for the work they did on my F4
car. They have been excellent. Driving on the track where Sebastian
Vettel won a world championship in 2010 is a dream come true. I still
need to do a big number of laps and get the best usage of my car. Still a
long way to go.”

The F4 UAE championship has been created by
FIA, the world’s governing body of motorsports to help young drivers to
move up the motorsport ladder, eventually making it to F1.

The Road Ahead

October 2016 – Feb 2017

Ricky
is currently participating in the first edition of UAE F4 championship,
which has a huge Indian audience and it will be a good practice before
pursuing the route to Indycar in early 2017 March 2017: Ricky has
been invited by Cape Motorsports (No.1 team with 6 championships behind
them and current leader in the 2016 standings) to compete in US Formula
2000 series 2017. Ricky will be the first ever Indian to pursue the
route to Indycar.

2018: To test and participate in Pro Mazda series USA

2019: To test and participate in Indylights series USA

2020: To test and participate in IndyCar series USA which is the ultimate goal